Brazil

• location

  • Brasilia - capital
  • West of the Atlantic ocean
  • Sao Palo = a south city
  • Peru = west of Brazil
  • Argentina = south west
• Rio de Janeiro national importance

  • main service industries are; banking, finance, and insurance
  • main manufacturing industries are chemicals, pharmaceuticals, clothing, furniture and processed foods
  • stunning natural surroundings and amazing beaches make it one of the most visited cities in the southern hemisphere
  • Brazil's second most important industrial centre, producing 5% of Brazil's Gross Domestic Products (GDP)
• Rio's international importance

  • a major port - main exports are coffee, iron core and sugar
  • the statue of Christ the Redeemer is one of the new Seven wonders of the world
  • Rio hosted matches in the 2014 World Cup and held the 2016 Olympics
• healthcare challenges (social challenges)

  • issue - not free, services for pregnant women and elderly is very poor, 6 hospitals
  • why has it happened - not enough hospitals, too expensive, lot of people migrating to the city, government can't afford it
  • what has the problem caused - low life expectancy - 45-65
  • solution - authorities have tried to improve healthcare, they bring resources to shanty towns
• education challenges (social challenges)

  • issue - 25% of the poorest children don't go to school, not many children stay in school after 14
  • why has it happened - the levels of school enrolment is low, its not compulsory
  • what problems has this caused - many children drop out of school and are forced into drug trafficking
  • solution - giving school grants to poor families
• water supply challenges (social challenges)

  • issue - 12% of Rio's population doesn't have running water
  • why has this happened - 37% of water is lost through leaky pipes, fraud and illegal access
  • problems has this caused - dehydration, droughts
  • solution - 7 new treatment plants were built between 1998-2014, 300km of water pipes were laid, 2014 = 95% of population had access to a main water supply
• energy challenges (social challenges)

  • issue - the whole city suffers from frequent blackouts
  • why has this happened - Rio's wealth
  • what has this caused - 2016 Olympics = made the situation worse, many people living in poorer areas got their electricity illegally by tapping into the main stream (unsafe and risky)
  • solution - installing 60km of new power lines, building a nuclear generator, developing a new, simpler hydro-electric complex, increased electricity by 30% - 6 years to build, US$2 billion
• favelas 


  in formal community - slaves built

  houses stacked on top of each other

  no building regulations

  informal economy

  communities that are built with no public services

  grown - cheaper option - 25% of Rio's population live in Favelas
• challenges in the Favelas

  • drugs/gangs
  • pollution
  • corruption
  • violence/weapons
  • 1 person in 23 arrest dies
  • police try to control them - gangs vs police
• formal economy


  the type of employment where people work to receive a regular wage, pay tax and have certain rights (eg paid holidays)
• informal economy


  employment outside the official knowledge of the government - like Dharavhi businesses and drug dealers
• the effects of economy growth on Rio - economic improvements

  • the growth of Rio's urban industrial areas has boosted the cities economy
  • economic development has brought about a lot of improvements in the cities infrastructure
  • these improvement of economic prosperity has attracted large scale companies from other parts of Brazil and south America as well as abroad into Rio
  • these developments have created a range of new economic opportunities in the formal economy
• types of employment in Rio

  • retail and distribution
  • port industries (imports/exports)
  • oil refining
  • tourism
  • service - banking and finance
  • steel
  • construction
• Brazil's economy was hit hard by a deep recession in 2015. This lead to an increase in unemployment . Unemployment is one of the reasons why there is such a huge contrast in wealth in Rio

  south Rio = 2% unemployment

  north Rio = 37% unemployment

  richest 1% earn 12% of Rio's income

  poorest 50% earns 13% of Rio's income

  Favelas - 20% is unemployed - most work in informal economy - poorly paid (average earnings = $60 a month (irregular))

  50% of Rios employee's don't have formal contracts - don't pay taxes
• unemployment in Rio

  • local governments use education to try to reduce youth unemployment
  • schools of Tomorrow programme aims to improve education for the young people in poor area's
  • courses are available for adults who have temporarily left education but want to continue studies
  • free child care is provided for teenage parents to enable them to return to education
• traffic congestion - environmental challenges

  • why is it a challenge - Rio is most congested city in South America, traffic congestion increases stress and pollution levels and wastes time for commuters and businesses
  • what caused it - steep mountains; roads can only be built on the coastal, low level land, main transport routes become congested - tunnels; through the mountain are needed to connect areas of the city - the number of cars has increased by over 40% in the last decade, high crime rates mean people prefer to travel by car
  • solution - expansion of the metro, new toll roads into the city centre, making coast roads one-way during rush hours (improve flow)
• air pollution - environmental challenges

  • why is it a challenge - causes 5000 deaths per year, Rio is often covered in brown smog
  • what has caused it - heavy traffic and congestion build up exhaust fumes, mist from the Atlantic mist with vehicle fumes and pollutants from factory chimneys
  • solution - reduce traffic conjestion
• water pollution -environmental challenges

  • why is it a challenge - major threat to wildlife, highly polluting, fishing has declined by 90% in the last 20 years
  • what has caused it - many of the 55 rivers flowing into the bay are heavily polluted, over 200 tonnes of raw sewage pours into the bay each day, over 50 tonnes of industrial waste enter the bay each day
  • solution - overseas aid has been used to reduce the amount of sewage being released into the bay - 5km of new sewage pipes, 42 new sewage works have been built since 2004 costing $68 million, ships have been fined for discharging fuel
• wate pollution - environmental challenges

  • why is it a challenge - makes access difficult for waste collection when the favelas are on high hills
  • what has caused it - most waste is dumped and pollutes the water system, this causes disease (cholera) and encourages rats
  • solution - a power plant has been set up near the university of Rio using methane gas (biogas) from rotting rubbish, it consumes 30 tonnes of rubbish a day and produces electricity for over 1000 homes
• Rio has

  • 5 ports
  • 3 airports
  • beaches
• Rio - culture

  • over 50 museums
  • carnival
  • samba
  • 2014 World cup
  • 2016 Olympics
• Rio's zones

  1. Centro - oldest part, many historical buildings, main shopping areas, financial centre with headquarters of CUBB and Petrobras, Brazil's largest oil and mining companies
  2. North - cities main industrial and port area, international airports, football stadium, favelas
  3. South - developed after tunnels were cut through mountains
  4. West - main Olympic stadiums, Olympic village in 2016
• where are the favelas

  • the favelas are distributed everywhere - no pattern
  • settlement are like this so they are everywhere, they are near airports - immigration, inland = urban areas
• Rocinha


  100 thousand people

  the communities work together - everyone helps out eg doing houses, clearing rubbish

  opportunities - schools, shops, work for wealthy, entertainment, part time jobs

  children help - they work to earn a few pounds and give it to their parent, eg look after cars
• Favelas Bairro Project


  improving living standards of the Favelas

  • a site and service scheme where local authorities provide land and service for residents to build homes - eg Complexa de Atemao is a group of Favelas in Rio's north zone with more the 60000 people there, the local authorities are responsible for improvements
• Favela improvements

  • paved and formally named roads
  • access to water supply and drainage system for improved sanitation
  • hillsides secured to prevent landslides or people relocated when necessary
  • building of new health, leisure and education facilities
  • instillation of cable car system across favelas inhabitants are given one free return ticket a day
  • access to credit to allow inhabitants to buy materials to improve their homes
• Favelas improvements - Favelas Bairro Project - success or fail


  the quality of living standards, mobility and employment have improved but it hasn't been a complete success